Abraham (redirected from Ebrahim)

Abraham [according to the Book of Genesis, Heb.,=father of many nations] or Abram (ā`brəm) [Heb.,=exalted father], in the Bible, progenitor of the Hebrews; in the Qur'an, ancestor of the Arabs. As the founder of Judaism, he is said to have instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews, who are descended from Isaac, son of Abraham's old age. Abraham also received the promise of Canaan for his people. In response to divine command, Abraham left Haran, taking his wife Sara and his nephew Lot to Canaan, where God promised him many descendants who would become a great nation. His devotion and trust in God and his promises are exemplified pre-eminently in Abraham's preparedness to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Book of Joshua confesses Abraham as a one-time worshiper of other gods before he entered Canaan.

Muslims believe that Arabs are descended from Abraham and Hagar through their son Ishmael. Abraham is further regarded as an ancestor of Muhammad. According to the Qur'an, Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba in Mecca and instituted pilgrimages there. The Qur'an depicts him destroying the idols of his father and of his clan; hence, Islam is the restoration of the religion of Abraham.

Other Abraham traditions are to be found in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, especially in the Book of Jubilees. See also Josephus' Jewish Antiquities. Modern biblical scholarship has revealed anachronisms in Genesis that cloud attempts to place chronologically Abraham's historical existence.

Bibliography

See T. L. Thompson, The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (1974); J. van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition (1975); A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, ed., Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives (1983).

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Abraham

(flourished early 2nd millennium BC) First of the Hebrew patriarchs, revered by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Genesis tells how Abraham, at 75, left Ur with his barren wife, Sarai (later Sarah), and others to found a new nation in Canaan. There God made a covenant with him, promising that his descendants would inherit the land and become a great nation. Abraham fathered Ishmael by Sarah's maidservant Hagar; Sarah herself bore Isaac, who inherited the covenant. Abraham's faith was tested when God ordered him to sacrifice Isaac; he was prepared to obey but God relented. In Judaism he is a model of virtue, in Christianity he is the father of all believers, and in Islam he is an ancestor of Muhammad and a model (in Sufism) of generosity.

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Abraham

1. Old Testament the first of the patriarchs, the father of Isaac and the founder of the Hebrew people (Genesis 11--25)

2. Abraham's bosom the place where the just repose after death (Luke 16:22)

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Abraham

initiated rite in covenant with God. [O.T.: Genesis 17:11–14]

See : Circumcision

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Abraham

in obedience to God, would sacrifice his only son. [O.T.: Genesis 22:1–18]

See : Faithfulness

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Abraham

progenitor of a host of nations. [O.T.: Genesis 17:3–6]

See : Fatherhood

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Abraham

graciously receives and treats three wayfarers. [O.T.: Genesis 18:1–15]

See : Hospitality

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Abraham

promised countless descendants by God. [O.T.: Genesis 13:16]

See : Prolificness

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Abraham

his faith is tested when God demands the sacrifice of his son Isaac. [O.T.: Genesis 22:13]

See : Test

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Abraham

(also Abram). Mythological forefather of the Hebrews.

Biblical tradition (Genesis 11–25) gives Ur as Abraham’s homeland and tells of his wanderings in Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt. Abraham is credited with the victory over the Elamites and their ally the Babylonian king Hammurabi (Amraphel). The story of Abraham’s unsuccessful attempt to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the god Yahweh testifies to the incipient transition away from human sacrifice and is comparable to the ancient Greek myth about Iphigenia. In the Koran, Abraham (Ibrahim) is considered the forefather of both the Hebrews and the Arabs and one of the precursors of Muhammad. In the Mandaean sect Abraham is one of the false prophets.